Aita
Aita(Etruscan:𐌀𐌕𐌉𐌀), also spelledEita(Etruscan:𐌀𐌕𐌉𐌄), is an epithet of theEtruscanchthonicfire godŚuri[1][2][3][4]as god of theunderworld,roughlyequivalentto theGreekgodHades(Epic Greek:Ἄϊδης,romanized:Áïdēs).[5]
Images
[edit]Aita is a relatively late addition to the Etruscanpantheon,appearing in iconography and in Etruscan text beginning in the 4th century BC, and is heavily influenced by his Greek counterpart, Hades.[6][7]Aita is pictured in only a few instances in Etruscan tomb painting, such as in theGolini TombfromOrvietoand the tomb ofOrcus IIfromTarquinia.[8]In these tomb paintings, he is shown with his consortPersipnei(Etruscan:𐌉𐌄𐌍𐌐𐌉𐌔𐌛𐌄𐌐), also spelledPhersipnai(Etruscan:𐌉𐌀𐌍𐌐𐌉𐌔𐌛𐌄𐌘), the Etruscan equivalent to the GreekPersephone.[9]
Although Aita is very rarely depicted, he may appear enthroned and sometimes wears a wolf cap, borrowing a key attribute from the earlier Etruscan underworld wolf-deity, namedCalu.[10]Other examples of Aita in Etruscan art depict hisabduction of Persipnei.Aside from tomb painting, Aita may be identified in a few examples in othermedia,including on a 4th-century painted vase fromVulci,two 2nd century alabaster ash urns fromVolterra,and a Red Figure 4th–3rd centuryOinochoe.[11]
References
[edit]- ^Servius 380b,11.785.
- ^De Grummond 2004,p. 359.
- ^National Etruscan Museum.
- ^Maras 2010.
- ^De Grummond 2006,p. 231.
- ^Jannot 2005,pp. 153–154.
- ^Helmut Rix, 1991.Etruskische Texte.Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag.
- ^De Grummond 2006,pp. 229–231.
- ^Jannot 2005,pp. 66–67, 153–154.
- ^Elliott 1995,pp. 17–33.
- ^Krauskopf 1988,pp. 394–399.
Bibliography
[edit]- De Grummond, Nancy Thomson(2004)."For the Mother and for the Daughter: Some Thoughts on Dedications from Etruria and Praeneste".Hesperia Supplements.33.The American School of Classical Studies at Athens: 351–370.ISBN9780876615331.JSTOR1354077.
- De Grummond, Nancy Thomson(2006).Etruscan Myth, Sacred History, and Legend.Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.ISBN9781931707862.
- De Grummond, Nancy Thomson; Simon, Erika, eds. (2006).The Religion of the Etruscans.Austin: University of Texas Press.ISBN9780292782334.
- Bonfante, Larissa. "Etruscan Inscriptions and Etruscan Religion". InDe Grummond & Simon (2006).
- Colonna, Giovanni. "Sacred Architecture and the Religion of the Etruscans". InDe Grummond & Simon (2006).
- Krauskopf, Ingrid. "The Grave and Beyond". InDe Grummond & Simon (2006),p. vii, pp. 73–75.
- Simon, Erika. "Gods in Harmony: The Etruscan Pantheon". InDe Grummond & Simon (2006).
- Elliott, John (1995-01-01). "The Etruscan Wolfman in Myth and Ritual".Etruscan Studies.2(1): 17–33.doi:10.1515/etst.1995.2.1.17.S2CID194102662.
- Jannot, Jean-René (2005).Religion in Ancient Etruria.Translated by Whitehead, J.K. University of Wisconsin Press.ISBN9780299208448.
- Lecce, Vittoria."Novembre e il dio Suri - Il Nero Signore"(in Italian).Museo Nazionale Etrusco.
- Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae.Vol. I–VIII. Zurich, Munich, Düsseldorf: Artemis & Winkler Verlag. 1981–1999.ISBN3-7608-8751-1.
- Krauskopf, Ingrid (1988). "Aita/Calu".InLIMC.Vol. IV. pp. 394–399.
- Maras, Daniele F. (2010)."Suri. Il nero signore degli inferi".Archeo(in Italian). No. 305. Archived fromthe originalon 2014-12-10.
- Servius(380).Commentary on the Aeneid of Vergil(in Latin). Vol. I–XII. Georgius Thilo – via Perseus Digital Library.
- Servius(380a).Commentary on the Aeneid of Vergil(in Latin). Vol. X. 199 – via Perseus Digital Library.
- Servius(380b).Commentary on the Aeneid of Vergil(in Latin). Vol. XI. 785 – via Perseus Digital Library.
